By Nangamso Mabindla
18 July 2005

BUFFALO City needed to have cleaner beaches if it wanted to boost its economy and fight the scourge of unemployment. This was discussed at the East London launch of the West Indian Ocean Land Based Activities (WIO-LAB) marine clean-up project last week.

Started in Kenya last year, WIO-LAB is a continental project that aims to intensify the fight against marine pollution caused by land-based activities. It also aims to determine the extent and magnitude of pollution of coastal waters to develop systems that will counter the damage.

The city's main threat to marine waters was the Buffalo River.

Shirley Fergus, the City's manager for environment and sustainable development, said people living along the river dumped their waste into the watercourse.

"The river in turn flows into the ocean and pollutes it. This poses a danger to marine life," she said. Because of this the state of bacterial quality of the sea and the 22 estuaries was frequently not complaint with South African Water Quality Guidelines standards.

Fergus said the city had some of the most beautiful beaches in the country, which offered opportunities for economic upliftment. "The WIO-LAB project will afford us an opportunity to ensure that our beaches and estuaries are up to the required standards."

Shavhani Mukwevho from WIO-LAB said a clean coastline would boost the region's chances for sports tourism and the city's chances of having beaches with blue flag status.

With cleaner beaches the city would be able to host big international surfing events and other marine sports.

"Blue flag beaches create jobs because tourism grows. The quality of food is good and people will always come back to that city," Mukwevho explained.

He said people should not pollute rivers because that was dangerous not only to marine life but to the economy and the environment. "A clean river leads to cleaner beaches, cleaner beaches lead to a clean environment, and that leads to good food quality and economic growth."

However, the City had already taken steps to ensure that its beaches were free of debris when it bought its new, state-of-the-art beach cleaner in May. Fergus said this debris was one of the main causes of marine pollution.

"If we can keep our beautiful coast clean, our tourism industry will flourish and that will mean jobs for the city's people," she said.